Last month we had the opportunity to introduce photographer Ayan Biswas to the community of Kharnak. We have always been wanting to take back our textiles to their source and finally could do so. Here we are presenting four of our products, worn by the locals - the people who sold us the wool - and share more about them, their lifestyle and beliefs. We hope you enjoy this! Dolma AngmoFor Dolma Angmo it is essential to pray every day.Since this summer on request of a holy monk, every night one person of each household attends a praying session in the community hall of the camp.To the people of Kharnak prayer is important as they are often facing challenges regarding...
Some of our “passion textiles” truly are the handspun and handwoven carpets from the people of Kharnak in Ladakh. They are quite unique in their look – they are all woven on portable backstrap looms and there are three different types of weaves. The two oldest ones are both flatweaves. The flatweaves using 4 shafts are
Why is our yak wool so meaningful to us? After launching our classic yak wool scarves in all three natural shades we would like to explain you a little bit more why it is such a big accomplishment for us. Each year in the summer, we source yak wool from the nomad community in Kharnak. In Ladakh, the yak appears in 3 different colors: dark brown which is the most common, beige which is less common and the rarest, the white yak, its wool can sometimes have a tint of grey, too. Yaks have always played a big part in the life of the nomads. Their wool was precious and they were the means of transport during the many moves...
Since the beginning of KAL we have been fascinated by the world of natural dyes. The variety of colors is incredible and with the help of a mordant they can be made colorfast.Here is a little introduction to some of the dyes we use for our Eri silk garments. JACKFRUIT TREE BARK:For our yellow shades we use the bark of the jackfruit tree - abundantly available in Assam. The jackfruit is known to be the largest edible fruit. All parts of it and its tree have been used in traditional medicine. seen here is our Top Satyata (left) and Shirt Tirota II (right) INDIGO:The blue dye obtained mostly from the plant genus indigofera among others is one of the oldest...
I wanted to share our thoughts on having a sale as there are many different approaches in especially the craft / mindful fashion / hand-made field. Now we are here in 2021 and we can clearly say that 2020 has been a tough year for us, as I am sure it has been for many of you as well. Nevertheless, all throughout the year we continued our production as usual, always keeping our team busy in order to avoid any shortage of income for them. This has worked really well. Nevertheless, on the distribution end we had losses, also due to the missing events of 2020 which are always great channels for us. Our stock levels increased whereas sales have...
